Stents are often implanted within a patient's vessel for therapeutic purposes such as maintaining the patency of the vessel or treating an aneurysm. Typically, stents are primarily composed of a metal or metallic alloy, such as Nitinol, stainless steel, or cobalt-chromium, which allows the stent to expand from a compressed configuration in a vessel. Generally, metals have remained the materials of choice for stent construction due to their mechanical properties and durability.